LAS CRUCES — Plucked from among those with a fate uncertain, Marshmallow, a fluffy poodle mix, became a canine lucky enough to stay alive.

That's thanks to resident Sherry Gara, who routinely fosters animal shelter pets at her home —giving them renewed lease on life. But picking a new foster pet from among the crowded shelter ranks, as Gara did yet again on Tuesday, is tough. She wishes she could save them all.

"I feel like ... I go through and say, you will live and you will die," she said. "It's a horrible feeling."

Indeed, there are still large numbers of dogs and cats, all potential pets, that are euthanized at the facility. But officials say there's a positive change. The rate of pets killed is trending downward.

Three-fourths of the way through the year, the Animal Service Center of the Mesilla Valley had killed 5,329 dogs and cats, according to shelter statistics. That's nearly 2,500 animals fewer than at the same point in 2008, the year that shelter Director Beth Vesco-Mock first took over the facility, and represents about a 32 percent decline.

"What makes the big impact on euthanasias is intake," Vesco-Mock said. "For the first nine months, you can see we've had a tremendous change in intake. It's much better."

The number of animals entering the shelter was nearly 12,000 in first nine months of 2008, according to the shelter. It was about 10,300 this year — roughly a 14 percent drop.

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Contributing to reduced intake are several efforts, including a continued push by groups for spaying and neutering, more microchipped pets and revamped practices that allow for animal control officials to get a pet back to its owner, even before it reaches the shelter, said Jess Williams, president of the nonprofit Doña Ana County Humane Society.

"They can scan an animal they find in the fields, and if it's micro-chipped, they can return the animal in the field," he said.

The city of Las Cruces has recently adopted the practice, Williams said. Plus, it's going on in Sunland Park and Doña Ana County. If a stray pet is found, owners still face citations, but they're also given a spay-neuter voucher. If the owner gets the pet spayed and neutered and microchipped, the charge can be dismissed at court, he said.

A $200, portable microchip scanner was donated to Sunland Park by the Doña Ana County Coalition for Pets and People, an umbrella group of animal-oriented nonprofits, county officials announced recently.

In addition, SNAP New Mexico is in its 12th year of offering reduced-cost spay and neuter vouchers for pets throughout Doña Ana County, said Gara, a founder of the organization. The group aims to get vouchers into the hands of low-income residents.

Each pet that's not spayed or neutered has potential to produce countless progeny over the years — why spaying and neutering is so impactful, Gara said.

"We've done about 11,000 animals in 12 years," she said. "We've eliminated a lot of animals from this community."

Rescuing pets has become Gara's main drive. She said she's always looking for new adopters or people willing to donate financially to SNAP, which runs entirely on donations.

"I'm relentless, and this is my life," she said. "It's a wonderful thing to see the numbers going down."

The numbers of pets being adopted out and shipped to rescue facilities in other areas also has gone up, another contributing factor, Vesco-Mock said.

"We've got all the steps in place," she said. "We just need to do them on larger scales."

The Coalition for Pets and People is focusing an education and spaying-and-neutering campaign within the 88012 zip code on the East Mesa, to curb high numbers of animals that originate from the area, Vesco-Mock said.

Animal advocates have said previously that increased cooperation among various — and numerous —pet groups also seems to be helping to reduce pet overpopulation. Previously, discord was the norm.

Williams said that work on the part of several groups, including DACHS, the Humane Society of Southern New Mexico, SNAP and others has benefited dogs, cats and other pets.

"It's the work of every single group and the collective work of all the groups," he said. "I think a lot of people are finally seeing this issue for what it is. As it gains traction, there's going to be, I hope, continued success."

While strides have been made, there's no reason to relax, officials said.

Vesco-Mock said pet owners need to stick to the basics of responsible pet care. That includes properly feeding, housing and vaccinating their dogs and cats, as well as getting them spayed or neutered.

"We just need people doing all the right things," she said.

Diana Alba Soular can be reached at (575) 541-5443; follow her on Twitter @AlbaSoular

IF YOU GO

What: Third annual Critter Christmas

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 6

Where: Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave.

Info:

— Early-bird tickets, $40; at the door, $50

— Tickets available at American Classified; Better Life Pet Foods; Enchanted Gardens and SNAP/DACHS office